Wire twister



S. NI. JOHNSON.

WIRE TWISTER.

APPLlcAHoN msn 1AN.5,1922.

Arromfrs Pafntad Non M, R922;

Patented Nov. ist, 1922.

NETE@ STATES SMITH MADISON JOHNSON, OF MIDDLEFIELD, OHIO.

WIRE TWISTER.

Application filed January 5, 1922.

To all LU/tom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, SMITH MADISON JOHN- soN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Middlefield in the county of Geauga vand Stateof hio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VireTwisters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in wire twisters, and it consistsin the constructions, combinations and mode of operation hereindescribed and claimed.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple device fortwisting thewires which hold. the tops of candy pails in place.

Another object oi' the invention is to provide a simple, portable,hand-operated tool which has simply to be set on the wires of a. candypail and given a few turns in order to twist the wires and so hold thetop in place.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the application of thewiretwister.

Fig. 2 isa perspective view of the wire twister alone,

Fig. 3 is a detail diagram illustrating the wire twisting action,

Fig. 4 is a detail section on the line #1-4 ot Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a detail view of the twister pinion illustrating amodification wherein two wire slots are used instead of one, and

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a further modification, illustrating theuse of a counter.

The purpose of the invention is to twist the wires 1 and 2 of the candypail 3. This pail is made of wood, and has a wooden cover 4 which isheld in place when the pail is filled, by the wires 1 and 2. rlhe endsof' these wires are suitably affixed to the sides of the pail. Thebights of the wires are brought together, and the usual manner oftwisting or tightening them is to insert a nail and give the wires asuiiicient number ot' turns to produce the required tension.

The wire twister accomplishes the same purpose but employs a simplemechanism which does the work much more quickly and ar better. Itcomprises a iframe or casing 5 with a handle 6 on the outside. The shaft7 of this handle carries a pinion 8 which drives Serial No. 527,193.

an idler 9. The idler in turn drives a twister pinion 10 which has aslot 11 into which the wires 1 and 2 fit without passing. The handle 6is given a number of turns (usually four or five) whereupon the twisterpinion 10 twists the strands of wire into the shape shown at 12 in Fig.3'.

An improvement of importance comprises the pawl 13 which prevents thepinion slot 11 from passing corresponding slots 14C in the casing 5 on areverse motion of the handle 6. lAt such time a pin 15 on the pinion 10engages the end of the pawl. Obviously, it is only necessary to turn thehandle 6 back until it stops, in order to find the slot 11 orv bring itinto registration with the slots 14. It is necessaryto do this in orderto get the wires 1 and 2 into the pinion.

A spring 16 drawsv the pawl 13 against a stop 17. The pawl is'pivoted at18. The pin 15 moves the pawl aside when the handle 6 is turned in theclockwise direction yindi-V cated by the arrow.

The twister pinion 10 has circular shoulders or hubs 19 which furnish itbearing in the side plates of the casing. The slots 14 in the casingsides have beveled approachesA i wires 1 and 2.

A modification of the twister pinion 10 consists in providing two slots11al (F ig. 5) instead of only one as in Fig. 3. Either arrangementworks well, but the form in Fig. 3 is preferred largely on account ofits simplicity. In the case in Fig. 5, care must be taken to get thewire strands 1 and 2 in the individual slots. Turning the pinion 10causes the twisting of the wires, as in Fig. 3.

A further modification consists in adding a counter 2l as in Fig. 6.This counter may be actuated in any suitable manner by any moving partof the tool. The arrangement shown is simply for the purpose ofillustration and consists of a cam 22 on the crank shaft 7, the cambeing intended to periodically strike a lever 23 of the counter. Thepurpose of the counter is to keep an aC- count oi' the number of timesthat the tool is used. For example, the tool may be rented to a user whomay be required to pay in accordance with the number of pails he hassealed.

I claim 1. wire twister comprising a casing to be carried in the hand, ahandle actuating gears onv the inside of the casing including 2O whichfacilitate fitting the tool over the mem-ber having a slot, means torevolve said vmember in one direction to bring .the slot and passageinto registration to receive the wire and in the other direction.to'twist the wire, a pawl carried -by lthe casing, meansgtov draw thepawl in one direction, meansto stop the pawl 'in a 'predeterminedposition infrespeet to V-tfhe revlub'le member, and means carried by therevoluble member `to engage the pawl and Abe stopped't-hereby in thewire-receiving vposition 'but passed under the pawl in the wire-twistingoperation.l

'3'. A wire twister comprising a casing` having awire passage at oneedge, a*rev' oluble member housed bythe easing `having a'SlOD, meanshoused by the vcasing Aand havling"actuating means on 'the outside to`revlve saidv memberl inone direction-to bring the slot and passage intoregistration to `receive the Wire and `in the ,other directionto i twistthe`vwire, a pawl pivoted on the casing,

means carried by' the casing and attached to the pawl lto `dra-.w thepawl in one direction,

means onlibe casing vto Stop v,the ,pawl in a. predetermined position inrespect to vthe revoliible inember, and means carried by the revolublemember to engage the paw-l and be stopped thereby in the wire-receivingposition but passed under the pawl in the Wiretwisting operation.

4. A wire twister comprising a casing having a wire passage opening atone edge, a pinion housed by the casing provided with hubs by which itis journaled in openings in the sides ot the casing, and vhaving a slot,gears housed and journaled in the casing for driving the pinion, meanson .the loutside ot the casing to turn the gears and pinion in onedirection to ybring the slotinto registration with the passage toreceive the wire and in the other direction to twist the wire, a ,pawlpivoted outside of the casing having a spring to-dra-Wjit against a stopon the casing and into' a predetermined position in respect to theadjacent pinion hub, and means pro'ecting from said 'hub to engage theend o the pawlv and :be stopped thereby in the Wirereceivingposition'but passunder the paw-l in the wire-twisting operation.

5. A wire twister comprising a casing, a pinion havin-g hubs journaledon the .casing and being slotted for Wire twisting, means carried by thecasing to revolve the pinion' in two directions, means projecting fromone ot the hubs, and means on the casing toy be engaged by theprojecting means and stop the pinion in a wirelreceiv'ing position whenrevolved in'one direction "butto be passed under when the pinion isrevolved fin the' other direction in a wire-twisting operation..

sMiTH Miinisoii JoiiNsoii,

